Taught By Our Mothers

Snow!  Again!  

Knitted Art Commemorating Finland's 100 years of freedom

Terve! Happy Mothers day to all those amazing Moms I know!!! I just want to say that you all have made a difference in my life and I love you :) 

This week was SO amazing! It has been full of ups and downs and middles and everything in between but that is the life of a missionary! That is actually one thing I have truly learned while I have been out is how to best rely on the Lord in every emotion. To say thank you for the blessings,  to ask for courage when scared. To ask for comfort when sad or worried and to ask for help when we fall short. The beautiful thing is that He is always there, ready to give and give. Some of these emotions help us so we thank Him for the bad as well as the good! Some of my goods this week were:

1. Hamburgers. Wow am I thankful for hamburgers! We ate them for dinner one night and I dont know why but it just gave me energy.......weird, yes :P 

2. All the seasons in one day! We will wake up, and it will be kind of like a cool crisp morning, and then will turn into a spring-ish mid day and at lunch summer comes and the birds are singing and its warm and then all of a sudden, conveniently when we are walking a long distance it blizzards. But the blizzards here in Turku are magical! Huge snowflakes just dance and swirl and it's so beautiful that you don't even feel cold :) 

3.Finnish stuff :) On Friday we were walking around after a canceled appointment and we were near the river and all of the trees along the river all have this fun knitted art! We discovered it was a contest because this year Finland celebrates its 100th birthday being a free country! YAY Finland! I took some pictures of my favorite :) 

4.Mothers Day! I was able to skype with my family on Sunday and talk to my amazing Momma and hear all the fun things that are happening with them and I was just overwhelmed at the love I felt for them and their support! 

One story in the Book of Mormon that truly brings to light the importance of Mothers is Alma 56. The two thousand Strippling Warriors had so much courage and bravery that even a war veteran like Helaman said that he had never seen "so great courage among the Nephites".  These boys had never fought in their life, but they said that because they had been taught by their mothers to fear God and to never doubt that they could do anything asked. That God would protect them. 

I am so thankful for a mother who taught me the importance of being a good person, and of sticking up for your beliefs no matter where you are. I am grateful that she taught me to rely on the Lord and to always have faith. To trust that He is always with us. I love my mom and I love you all too. Have a great week and tell your moms you love them :)

Rakkaudellani

Sisar Phipps

Hyvää Vappua!! :)

A cool museum we visited

Princess dessert and Sisar H!

Moi ystävät!! I hope everyone is doing well on this beautiful may day! :) Here in Finland the first of May is a big day and everything closes and there are lots of people "being merry" if you know what I mean :P about 90% of the Finnish population is drunk. The crazy thing is they are STILL super nice! and pretty funny. 

This week has been amazing! We have met some amazing people who want to come to know their Savior even more and we were able to share the message of the Restoration with many! One man even decided after one lesson to be baptized! We were a little shocked, but God prepares His children and puts them in our path. I am excited to teach him more about this amazing gospel and to see his testimony grow :) 

I want to take a moment to really appreciate the members here in my area! This week we were able to visit the H. Family! They are amazing and Sisar H. is an AMAZING cook and made us Princess Dessert! Chocolate ice cream, berries, and meringue with homemade whip cream! And many times have we received kind texts or messages from this family wanting to help further the work in Turku! 

We also had the opportunity so work some more in one of our members yard and this time we got to shovel and scoop sawdust out of the roof of an older building! It was SO FUN! We got to wear masks and climb ladders and we even found some cool magazines from the 1960's! And we got to keep them! Apparently a few days before we got there the member found a torpedo! (not active or filled with explosives) but still SO COOL!!!!

The thing I really learned this week is that God truly knows us. He knows our hearts and our desires and He wants to help us :) My personal goal this week was to say a tender mercy everytime I was going to say something negative. Well.......God heard my prayer for help in this goal. I know this becuase the next day I had the flu and was REALLY sick! But I am proud to say that each time I felt sorry for myself or started to complain I would say something like, " at least I have a pillow" or "I'm thankful to have a companion who makes me laugh when I don't feel good and makes me eat crackers". 

God answered my prayer, even if it wasn't quite the way I may have wanted, I learned that even when it gets really hard, we can still see the good all around us :) I am doing much better now and it has become even easier to see the beauty all around me. 

I love my Father in Heaven. I know He hears me and wants to help. I challenge everyone to think of a tender mercy when we think its hard, or to ask for help in our goals because he will help us :) 1 Nephi 21:13- 5 : we may forget Him, but he will never forget us :) 

I love you all and I pray for you daily!

Keep smiling and know that we are heard.

Rakkaudellani,

Sisar Phipps